Jeff Bezos, who is relinquishing his duties as day-to-day CEO of Amazon this summer, has clearly built a monster stock.
But he’s actually not the lead dog among monsters. At the top, according to data from a Quartz (qz.com) story is, actually, Monster Beverage.
The makers of the popular energy drink ranked first in the “Amazon era,” which began with Bezos’ company’s IPO May 15, 1997.
In 2015, Monster joined Coca-Cola, which, according to a U.S. News story, took a 19% ownership stake in Monster in return for Coca-Cola becoming Monster’s main global distributor.
Amazon.com, which is a strong second since its IPO, has an annualized return of 38.4% during that time and has made Bezos among the richest people on the planet; he’s been No. 1 and No. 2 alternately as the market continues to move.
Third on the list is Apple, with its 34.1% annualized return.
Deeper into the numbers is everyone’s favorite “what-if” game. What if you had invested a measly $1,000 in these companies back then?
From the Quartz story:
A $1,000 investment in Amazon’s stock at its IPO on May 15, 1997, would be worth $2.2 million today.
A $1,000 investment in Hansen’s Natural Corp—what Monster was called in 1997—would be worth $3.9 million.
A $1,000 investment in Apple would be worth $1.1 million today.
The reinvestment of dividends is included, though Monster and Amazon didn’t issue any during the time period.
So, yes, Amazon and Apple are dominant market forces, but Monster investors say, “Hold my beer.”
Monster has turned a chart-leading profit of 390,428% during the Amazon era, and a 41.7% annualized return.
Smith and Wesson landed fourth on the list, having rolled up a 35.8% annualized return since it pulled the trigger on its IPO in 1998.
Add comment